Page 93 of A Crown of Hopes and Sorrows

“That Zephyrus had made a deal with the king to capture me.” I clenched my teeth down at that. I’d endangered Delon if that was the case. He and the guards wouldn’t be more than collateral damage to Zephyrus.

Delon scoffed. “Any friend of Zephyrus is an enemy of ours. It’s the same thing.”

I nodded and pushed the magic out. Veiling was something I could do with ease. It was the only power I’d ever mastered. But maybe it was time to change that.

We worked our way through the crowds and back to the dining house we’d had drinks at—the buzz of the alcohol long burned off with our panic and running—and Delon grumbled. “Having most of the guards remove their uniforms probably saved their asses.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s gather them up and get out of here. Hopefully, our horses are unmolested.”

Once we gathered everyone and made it out of the city, we found the horses and our carriage next to the rest of our party we’d left with it. Delon sighed and hopped into the seat as I dropped beside him. He looked over his shoulder and spoke to the guards. “We’ll travel through the night tonight. I want to get as much distance between us and Ansair as we can.”

He clicked his tongue and gave the reins a toss, and the horses clipped out into the amethyst color of twilight, Delon leading them away from the main road.

We remained quiet for several minutes. The trees along the mountainside had darkened into silhouettes draped in fog. There was a peaceful beauty to it. The moon peeked out over the tree line, and I wondered where Temi was and if she was looking at the same sky as me at that moment as well. Gods, I hoped their trip went better than ours.

A whistle broke out over the chuffing sounds of the horses and whispering of the wind. I turned my head towards it. A flame tore across the darkness, soaring at us. “Delon…”

He turned right as the arrow, thick with the acrid smell of burning pine tar, struck the chariot. Dozens more lit the sky, like shooting stars of death. One hit the wheel, and it crackled, the fire jumping onto the wood and licking up it.

“Hades’ realm,” Delon growled, vaulting down and loosening the leather straps that attached the horses—now startled, the whites of their eyes showing as they tossed their heads. His fingers stumbled over the harnesses. “Can you release the other side?”

I copied his motions as more arrows flew, landing near us. We unhitched the leather, and Delon reached out, smacking the horse’s flanks, causing them to panic and rear up, running off into the dark.

“Go ahead,” Delon yelled to the guards and gestured to the animals we’d just freed. “See if you can catch them. Me and Apollo will meet you at first light. He has magic that will shield us. But get the horses out of here before these bastards kill them all.”

They inclined their heads and galloped in the direction our horses had gone. Delon and I ran away from the carriage where the fire had built, dancing curling patterns of apricot over the mossy boulders that peppered the surroundings. Once we had some distance, we slowed to a walk for an hour into the darkness before stopping at a spot tucked behind fir trees. Delon dropped to the ground. “You’ll use a veil again if they come after us? That’s not a one-time trick, is it?”

“No, I can do it again.”

“Good.” He pulled out a bag of shelled almonds and offered some to me. “This will have to do for dinner. We’ll see if we can catch up with our party in the morning and find somewhere to buy actual food.” He shifted his face in the distance, where a plume of dark smoke whispered into the night sky, and frowned. My stomach growled, and suddenly the dried fruit and bread we’d had on the carriage seemed like a feast.

I accepted some almonds and popped them into my mouth. “You had these on you?”

He shrugged. “Ack, snack for the road. And I knew you wouldn’t eat jerky.”

I found myself at a loss for words at that kindness and instead took another handful and chewed them before responding. “Thanks.” I nodded towards the horizon, which had dipped into the ebony of night. “Do you think they’ll find the horses?”

“Yeah, they were frightened, but those two were hand-raised by Valerian. They’re loyal and well trained. The guards will get ‘em.” Delon let out a laugh and brushed his hands together, sweeping away the salt from the snack. “Thank gods we got them free. Valerian would have had my ass if something happened to them.”

I pulled my knapsack off and opened it. I considered Hyacinth as a child, best friends with Valerian, spending days horseback riding. That was easy to imagine. Cyn had such a compassionate heart that it wasn’t hard to believe he’d get along well with animals. He probably wore those ridiculous robes of his even as a kid. I rolled my eyes but smiled. And for the first time since we’d parted ways, a thought of him didn’t hurt. I drew my bedroll out and handed it to Delon.

He frowned. “I can’t take this.”

“You’re mortal as you reminded me multiple times today. The cold is more of a hardship to you. And”—I lifted my arms and allowed the magic to sweep forth—“I have my powers for warmth.”

Delon hesitated a moment, but then took the bedroll and folded it out.

And I let the magic soar through me again, the heat of it flooding through my blood.

And my heart raced.

I needed to learn what all I could do, to accept that I was a god. And maybe I could use it for good even. It had saved Delon earlier. It was time to stop fighting it and use what I had to help where I could.

38

Artemis

The minotaur yanked my arm, pushing me forward farther into the cave. My flesh ached where his fingers dug in, and I longed to jerk away from him. I could take him down. But, no. I had agreed to this and seeing Epiphany alive—if seriously hurt—firmed my resolve.

It had shocked me when Hecate had suggested we let ourselves get caught. She had stared out over the mist of the ocean while we sat in the boat as the waves bobbed us, the moon round and bright in the sky as though it rolled over the dark silk of night, its reflection tumbling in broken undulations of ivory over the sea. Hecate gasped and turned towards Persephone. “Hera has realized our ruse.”